Michigan House Republicans want to amend the state Constitution to ensure only U.S. citizens can vote, but Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson thinks it’s a bad idea.
“The politicians pushing this plan are taking something we all believe and know is true – that only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections – and using that as cover to gut Michiganders’ voting rights in our state constitution,” Benson, who is running to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2026, said in a recent statement.
Benson contends the “failed policy” hasn’t worked in other states, pointing to legal challenges from progressive groups that have derailed similar efforts.
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The former hate crimes investigator for the disgraced Southern Poverty Law Center claimed without evidence laws that require residents to prove who they are before voting have “blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters from casting their legal ballots in an election,” though she did not specific when or where.
“I stand with the people of Michigan who have overwhelmingly passed ballot measures to make voting more accessible and to enshrine citizens’ voting rights into our constitution,” Benson said. “We need to hold the line on protecting every eligible citizen’s constitutional right to cast a ballot in every election and get back to the business of working together on honest proposals to keep Michigan’s elections safe, secure and accessible.”
House Majority Floor Leader Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, introduced House Joint Resolution B last week to require anyone registering to vote after Dec. 18, 2026 to provide proof of citizenship, and mandate voters present a photo ID when voting in person.
Voters who cast absentee ballots would be required to provide a copy of their photo ID, a driver’s license number, state personal identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number. Voters without an ID would still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot that would not be counted until their citizenship is verified, with a deadline of six days after an election.
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The proposal would further task the state with providing free photo IDs to citizens experiencing hardship.
“This is a no-brainer,” Posthumus said in a statement. “And people should have to show ID when voting to prove that they are who they say they are. That’s just common sense.”
The resolution would also require the Secretary of State to periodically confirm everyone on the statewide qualified voter file is a U.S. citizen, and that registration lists used at polling locations match the statewide qualified voter file.
Benson has steadfastly refused to purge the state’s bloated voter rolls, now at more than 105% of the voting age population, of folks who have died, gone to prison, moved away or otherwise became ineligible to vote.
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Posthumus said the effort is aimed in part at protecting legal votes from being negated by illegal votes, pointing to a Chinese national at the University of Michigan who cast an illegal ballot in October. That ballot, which would have went unnoticed by the Secretary of State had the student not attempted to retrieve it, was counted in the 2024 election, which came with relaxed voting rules championed by Benson and approved by Democrats who controlled both chambers of the Michigan Legislature.
“What the constitutional amendment does is it builds in the guardrails that will make it so a foreign national can no longer vote,” Posthumus told reporters with Bridge Michigan and other outlets last week.
Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment known as Proposal 2 in 2022 amid a barrage of advertising that alleged the measure would require voter ID to cast ballots. Once approved, deceived voters realized the measure also included provisions that allow residents to circumvent that requirement with a signed affidavit.
Last year, 130 voters filed a state Supreme Court lawsuit against Benson, Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and state election officials targeting Proposal 2.
“Petitioners have reason to believe (Proposal 2) resulted in a number of unconstitutional revisions to the Michigan Constitution, and subsequent new election laws, making it impossible for the State of Michigan to guarantee all legally eligible Michigan voters a free, fair, lawful, secure, and transparent election process in the 2024 elections,” the lawsuit read.
Pointing to seven separate court rulings that found Benson’s election guidance unlawful, the group of voters argued the Secretary of State ignores, subverts, or rewrites Michigan election laws she doesn’t like.
Vague provisions in Proposal 2 were perverted by the legislature under Democratic control, resulting in what the voters predicted would be “legal ballots being canceled by illegal ballots cast by legally ineligible voters from a variety of courses,” according to the lawsuit.
Former Republican Secretary of State Sen. Ruth Johnson has repeatedly highlighted similar concerns.
Groups behind the 2022 ballot referendum are now attacking Posthumous’ proposal, with Voters Not Politicians Executive Director Jamie Lyons-Eddy suggesting to Michigan Advance that non-citizen voting is a nonissue driven by “nonsensical political posturing that risks disenfranchising eligible voters.”
Posthumus’ proposal would require a two-thirds vote from members of both the Michigan House and Senate to put it on the ballot for voters to decide. It would not need Whitmer’s signature.
The legislative approval would require 74 votes in the House and 26 in the Senate. Republicans currently have a 58-52 seat majority in the lower chamber, while Democrats hold a one seat majority in the Senate 19-18, with one vacancy.
The resolution could also appear on the ballot if citizens gather enough petition signatures to make it happen.
The voter advocacy group Prove It Michigan! is already collecting contacts for residents to pursue that route if lawmakers fail to take up the cause.
“If Lansing doesn’t fix this, WE THE PEOPLE will,” according to the group’s website. “If the Michigan Legislature won’t pass this constitutional amendment to put it to a vote of the people, we’ll launch a drive to collect the signatures it takes for voters to fix this once and for all.”
According to a Rasmussen poll released Monday: “…77% of U.S. likely voters said that requiring photo ID to vote is a reasonable measure to protect the election integrity, an increase from 74% in 2021. Only 17% of likely voters disagreed.
A ballot proposal to amend the Michigan Constitution would require 446,198 signatures to appear on the 2026 ballot, according to Ballotpedia.